Housemates
by Gyagya-urusai-yo
Summary: The fourth war is over and everyone is working hard to rebuild Konoha. What happens when Godaime forces Naruto and Sasuke to live together, under the pretense of 'saving housing space for the villagers' ? Naruto isn't sure what the Hokage is thinking, but he never backs down from a challenge. NaruSasu.
1. Chapter 1

Uzumaki Naruto stood before the Hokage in total and utter shock. Mouth wide open, eye twitching uncontrollably.. the works. When he finally got his jaw working again, disbelief overcame his surpise.

"What do you mean 'live with Sasuke', baa-chan? That's the lamest joke I've heard all week, and I've been stuck helping out Kiba and his pathetic excuse for a sense of humour at the northern wall these days. "

Tsunade sighed in exasperation. She had been under no illusion that this talk would go smoothly, but Naruto's stubbornness still got on her nerves.

"I'm not playing with you, kid. You're moving in with him until the town's rebuilt and every citizen can be housed. Construction's not going as fast as we'd originally planned and if we want to keep up the appearance that Konoha is recovering well from the war, compromises have to be made. Civilians get priority, brat. So do as you're told and start packing, that's an order."

Naruto couldn't believe this. He was aware of the tense political relations between the nations now that the 4th war was over, but this.. this was just ridiculous!

"Are you shitting me?! What's that got to do with _me _having to move in with _him_. I get that there's still lots a work to be done, but c'mon.. Anything but this, granny! You can't make me live with that stuck-up bastard! I'll pull extra shifts to get more work done, I swear! I'll fix up some more bunshin and this town will be good as new in a couple of months! Pleaaase..You can't do this me!"

Naruto ended on a heartfelt plea, hoping her soft spot for him would get him out of this mess. But he was't aware that Godaime had another reason for forcing this on him. Despite Sasuke's change of heart in the middle of the war, she felt that he wasn't the same boy who left the village in search of power all those years ago. He'd severed the ties and lost his connection to his hometown. The people of Konoha also found it hard to accept him after what he did, how he betrayed everyone that had held him dear. Since Naruto's fight against Pain, every single citizen had acknowledged the blonde hero and let him into their hearts. As their love for the boy grew stronger, their hate for the Uchiha who had turned his back on said boy became more intense. Despite Sasuke's assistance in defeating Madara and Obito, the villagers were still suspicious of him and avoided the Uchiha at all costs. Tsunade felt the town couldn't afford any more inner conflict in its weakened state and decided that something had to be done. She needed to find someone who could reacquaint the brooding boy with the people of Konoha and, most importantly, someone who could reignite his will of fire. The fifth knew Sasuke wasn't a lost cause yet and was adamant about her newfound mission. And who could be a better fit for this task than the ball of sunshine known as Naruto? He's the only one who has the slightest chance of warming the Uchiha's frozen heart, Tsunade understood that much.

"That's enough, brat! This is no time for you to be selfish. You will do this for the sake of the village, you hear me? And would you stop calling him a bastard! If you're going to live together from now on you better start getting along. I will not have the two of you bickering in my office every week over some ridiculously childish reason why you can't stand each other. Grow up and be the bigger man, Naruto! I know you're not the little brat you were when I first met you, so prove it!"

'That should do it', she thought. If there was one thing Uzumaki Naruto would never back down from, it's a challenge. She could see the radars turning in his head as he tried to come up with a retaliation. But eventually he failed. Naruto stopped grinding his teeth in aggravation and gave in with a sigh.

"That's nasty, granny, manipulating me like that! Whatever, fine. I.. suppose I could give it a shot. But if he makes my life miserable, you can be damn sure I'll repay the favour tenfold. I ain't letting anyone boss me around, got it?! Especially not Sasuke-teme! With his smug face and gravity-defying duck butt hair and-"

He was cut off short when a slender figure silently walked passed him to stand in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Still running your mouth like an obnoxious moron.. You haven't changed a bit, dobe."

Naruto's cheeks heated up with annoyance or embarrassment, he wasn't sure. Sasuke had returned to the village three weeks ago, along with all the other Konoha shinobi after the war was over. Naruto hadn't had a chance to really talk to him, since the Uchiha had been detained in the Hokage tower while awaiting judgment for the crimes he had committed against his country. But it seemed to him the haughty prick hadn't changed at all since they had been separated.

"Why don't you turn around and say that to my face, asshole! You pretentious sack of-"

"Naruto, that's enough! I see I'm going to have to make myself crystal clear to the both of you. Sasuke, you should consider yourself lucky I'm even allowing you back in to the village. I have given you a clean record because you have proven yourself loyal in the war, don't make me regret that decision. You will be given an apartment in the eastern district for now, but this is only a temporary residence. Once the town is completely rebuilt, you're free to buy a house of your own choice."

"Clean record? You're not punishing him or nothing? Geez, bastard, you always get it easy, don't you."

Sasuke turned his head at Naruto's snarled comment and was about to reply when Tsunade belted.

"Give it a rest already, Naruto! Since chasing after Sasuke is all you've been doing since he walked out, I expected a little more gratitude from you."

Naruto scoffed.

"I'd have punished him good and hard myself if I'd had any success in bringing him back.."

Sasuke rolled his eyes in irritation.

"You'd try."

"What's that, teme? Want me to show you here and now? Alright, bring it-"

Tsunade finally lost it, sprung up from her chair and smashed her open palms on the flat surface of her desk with an intimidating bang.

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS, BOTH OF YOU!"

The two startled 17 year olds hastily took a step back, away from the raging fury of the Hokage. Her eyes narrowed as she breathed heavily through her nose.

"The two of you will live together in Sasuke's temporary apartment starting today. You will behave. You will NOT cause anyone trouble. If I hear even one complaint from any of your neighbours, I will have your heads, understand? Now get out of my sight!"

Naruto stood rooted to his spot in fear for a few seconds before he turned towards the exit to follow after the seemingly indifferent Uchiha who had left immediately once dismissed.  
'Well, I'm fucked,' he thought , a sense of dread settling in his stomach.

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Author Note: Thanks for the positive reviews so far, I'm currently working on a second chapter. We'll see where it goes from there. Please keep up your support, I appreciate it!


	2. Chapter 2

As they made their way down the stairs of the Hokage tower, Naruto was lost in thought. He kept an unfocused stare directed at Sasuke's lean back and wondered how this situation would affect the both of them. 'I don't know what that old hag's thinking.. But she better be damn grateful I didn't put up much of a fight. 'Cause as much as that black haired traitor gets on my nerves, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to have him back.' He was still a bit conflicted about Sasuke returning to the village, but Naruto was not suspicious of him like most of the townspeople were. It was a long time ago, but Naruto still treasured his memories of the old team 7 and he was set on trusting Sasuke, just like he had back then. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel tormented by the fact that he hadn't been able to drag Sasuke back with his own two hands. He feared that maybe the boy's arrogant and indifferent attitude towards him had never been a façade, like he'd hoped it was. What if the bond he thought he'd had with the Uchiha had really been mostly one-sided? Naruto couldn't shake the doubts that arose when he speculated on the motives behind Sasuke's actions. 'Maybe he only came back because of his brother.. He might just have wanted to return to the town because he values it after Itachi died to protect it.' Naruto knitted his eyebrows into a frown, disappointment and uncertainty flooded his mind and he felt overwhelmed by the sensation. Reflexes dulled by his inner turmoil, he failed to register the Uchiha had stopped to a halt. As a result, he walked headfirst into the boy, causing their heads to connect in a less than gentle manner.

"Aah! What the hell, bastard? What'd you do that for?"

Sasuke, who stood there rubbing the back of his head, scowled at the blonde and spat out his words.

"_You're _the one who ran into _me_, moron."

Realisation dawned on Naruto as he remembered spacing out just before they collided. He took his hand from his abused forehead and waved it dismissingly in front of his face.

"Right! Sorry about that, guess I wasn't paying enough attention, hehe."

"I'd tell you to use your head from now on, but I suppose one can't ask for the impossible."

Sasuke didn't so much as glance back at Naruto and started to collect his things. Naruto bit back a snappy reply, closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. 'Just ignore him.. ignore him.. Smug bastard isn't worth it.' When he was sure most of the anger had seeped away, he opened his eyes again and realised they'd already reached the tents near the construction site, where most of the town's shinobi slept. He packed his stuff, which easily fit into one bag, in a hurry to avoid questions. Naruto really didn't feel like spreading the word about the troublesome predicament he was in. Just as he made to leave with Sasuke following closely behind, someone obstructed their path. Naruto swallowed and faked a carefree grin.

"Yo Shikamaru! You working the late shift or something?"

Said boy's eyes shifted from Sasuke to the blonde, but the blank stare on the Nara prodigy's face was no different than usual and he answered in a flat voice.

"Yeah, just dropped by to pick up some things before I take off again…You?"

"Ah no, I got the night off. Anyway, we're in kind of a hurry so I think we'll just-"

Naruto was interrupted as three girls came running towards them from the tent's entry.

"Shikamaru, did you forget you're on duty tonight? I've been waiting for you at least fifteen minutes out there, get your lazy ass over to wall!" An enraged blonde shouted.

"Troublesome", Shikamaru muttered before turning towards a fuming Ino, who came marching towards him with Sakura and Hinata in tow.

'Great, so much for not attracting attention', Naruto thought. While he was trying to figure out the best way to satisfy the girls' now obvious curiosity at seeing him together with Sasuke, Shikamaru unknowingly lent them a hand.

"I heard the Hokage sent for the two of you. Got into trouble?" the boy asked, attention directed at Naruto once again.

"No not this time, hehe. Actually.. we were given a sort of.. mission kind of thing? Yeah! Um, she'd called for us so she could explain everything in person since it's a really important and top-secret mission!" Naruto lied through his teeth. 'Well, I suppose there's some truth in there actually' he thought to himself.

Shikamaru gave him a knowing look for a split second, his genius brain probably filtering through the half-truths he picked up. He didn't comment on Naruto's explanation, however, and Hinata made use of that moment of silence to tentatively pose a question.

"I-if you are going on a mission together, does t-that mean Tsunade-sama has reinstated you as a Konoha shinobi, Sasuke-k-kun?"

Naruto was surprised she addressed the Uchiha directly, since most of their friends had limited contact with him so far. He couldn't blame them, really. If it was damn near impossible to sort out his own feelings regarding the boy, he reckoned it was likely the others were still conflicted about the Uchiha as well.

For a while, Naruto believed Hinata's question would remain unanswered. But just as he was about to confirm her reasoning to keep Sasuke from blowing their cover, the Uchiha shrugged noncommittally and offered a blunt "Yes". Naruto tried to keep his facial expressions in check, yet he couldn't keep from directing a surprised sideways glance at the stoic boy.

"Oh, I-I see. That is wonderful, congratulations," the girl hesitantly, but genuinely smiled.

Sasuke offered a small bow of the head in acceptance. As much as Naruto wanted to confront the suddenly easy-going Uchiha about his change of attitude, he figured escaping further questions was his priority now. Sakura, who had sighed in relief after hearing Sasuke's answer, now appeared to be back to her sharp, analysing self. Naruto recognised that look in her eyes and cut her off before she could start fishing for details about their so-called 'secret mission'.

"Right, we're on a very tight schedule here, so we best be off now! See you later, bye guys!"

He all but ran out of the tent after his rushed goodbye and was relieved to see Sasuke hadn't lingered either and was right behind him. When he was sure they were at a safe distance from curious onlookers, he slowed his pace and settled for a relaxed stroll towards the eastern quarters.

"Uh, I just realised baa-chan only specified the district, but forgot to give us the address.."

Naruto scratched his head in confusion as he let his eyes wander over the numerous apartments they were passing. Sasuke merely scoffed, took a small scroll out of his pouch and started leading the way. Naruto assumed the scroll was his official assignment and contained the exact address so he resigned to following the bastard through several small alleys until Sasuke forced him to a stop. Naruto nearly ran straight into the Uchiha's outstretched arm, but thought better than to aggravate the boy a second time today with his lack of awareness.

"So this is it then? Seems like a pretty decent place from the outside!"

Naruto tried to stay positive and started grinning. But his efforts went to waste as Sasuke shot him a glare that very clearly stated his discontent, jammed the key in the lock and entered the apartment. Naruto sighed in annoyance, 'Granny, you are one evil old hag', and reluctantly followed after Sasuke.

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I'm going to try to get the next chapter up before I go on vacation. After that I won't be able to write for a week or two, so please be patient. Also, please review, I'd really appreciate it!


	3. Chapter 3

The apartment was more spacious than it appeared from the outside. Naruto admired the simple, but elegant living room as he took his first steps inside. To his right there was a rather large, comfortable looking sofa, accompanied by a smaller copy to its side. A dark-brown wooden bookshelf obscured the view of the wall located furthest away from him. A content smile bloomed on the blonde's features as he took it all in. 'This is way nicer than my old place, let alone the tents' he mused, wondering how many strings Tsunade pulled to get them an apartment like this. 'Semi-evil old hag it is,' he sniggered to himself. He hastily kicked off his sandals and yanked open the first door in his path, which was located to his left. 'Work place', he concluded after a quick glance towards a broad desk and he hopped out of the room again. He sped through a small hallway with two opposing doors and tried to open the one to his right, but to his dismay he found that it was locked. After a good five minutes of cursing, pulling the doorknob and delivering well-placed blows on the door, a faint voice reached Naruto's ears from the other side.

"Stop tearing the place down. I'm only going to tell you once. This is my room now and you're not allowed inside, ever. You better get that through your thick skull and remember it."

Naruto growled back.

"Teme! Who said you could have first pick? And what the hell did you say about my skull? Open this door right now and I'll bash yours if you-"

He snapped his mouth shut and recalled what Godaime had said to him only a few hours ago. He took a few deep breaths and suppressed the urge to lash out. 'Calm down, I'm the bigger man. I can't let his petty provocations get to me.'

"Fine, I didn't even want that stupid room anyway."

'There, sure showed him,' he thought with a smirk. He didn't bother to wait for a reply he was certain he wasn't going to get, so he turned around and opened the door to his new bedroom. It appeared to be around the same size as the bedroom in his old apartment, but the furniture was arranged differently. 'Not enough colour, but I can fix that. This'll do,' he sighed in contentment and flopped down onto the spacious bed. His mind went blank for a second, but then all of his worries and insecurities came flooding back in and he felt slightly crushed by the weight. 'How am I ever gonna make this work… It was hard enough dealing with how worthless I felt just by looking at him so far. But now I've got to be around him every single day, be reminded of my failure all the time, not knowing what goes on inside that big, annoying head of his. I'm not gonna achieve anything by flooding him with questions, he'll just ignore me or distract me with insults to avoid them. But if I don't pry, I'll go mad… I have to know.' He breathed out and a determined look crossed his features. 'I can't just sit still and do nothing. I'm gonna find out why he came back, no matter how long it takes.'

He woke up when he heard the soft shuffling of feet in the hallway. Disoriented, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and glanced at the clock. 'Eight thirty, no wonder I feel so drowsy. I must've fallen asleep when I laid down a few hours ago.' His stomach confirmed that assumption with a loud growl that made him feel queasy. 'Uhh, I know, I know. Gotta find some food around here.' He stood from the bed and made his way through the hall. At the end of it, he found a very neat, modern kitchen. With a very annoyed looking Uchiha in it.

"What's your problem, someone disrupt your beauty sleep?" Naruto said offhandedly while pinpointing the fridge.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but didn't reply. When Naruto opened the fridge, he could easily guess what put the Uchiha in a nasty mood. As a matter of fact, he began to feel the irritation bubbling in himself as well as he looked at the empty nothingness in front of him.

"That's just great. What the hell am I supposed to eat?"

Sasuke gave him a 'the hell if I know' look and shrugged his shoulders.

"Right.. So, I guess one of us has to do some shopping. I can go if-" Naruto was abruptly cut off.

"Shops are already closed, dobe."

"Shit, I forgot about the time! Fine, what do you propose we do then, smartass?"

Sasuke scoffed at the insult but seemed to have already come up with a solution while Naruto was busy freaking out.

"Order some take-out."

Naruto's eyes twinkled in happiness and he quickly whirled around to grab a hold of the phone that was conveniently resting on a little table next to the fridge.

"Ichiraku's closest!"

"I'm not eating any of that disgusting junk you try to pass off as food."

"How can you say that? Ramen is like.. the food of the Gods! Blasphemy!" Naruto yelled dramatically while jabbing his finger at an indignant looking Sasuke.

"Fine, just cut the bullshit and order already."

The black haired boy gave in too easily and Naruto briefly contemplated if there was a catch. But this was ramen they were talking about, no use dwelling on insignificant details. A few minutes later, the order was placed and Naruto bounced excitedly towards one of the chairs, sat down and grinned at Sasuke.

"Delivery's in 10 minutes." He remarked.

He got no response and felt just a tinge of annoyance at the Uchiha's unchanged stoic expression. 'Jeez, he's still the exact same prick he was before he ditched Konoha, isn't he.' Naruto figured this was as good a time as any to start prying for information. He faked an indifferent attitude and let his arm rest casually on the chair beside him.

"So.. You look skinny as ever. What the hell did Orochimaru try to feed you? Snakes? Bet he got you gobbling up all sorts a foul stuff, huh? Well, you know what they say, you are what you eat. Sure explains the sour look that's permanently plastered to your face though."

Sasuke frowned at the random comment and seemed a little bitter, but he kept himself in check.

"If that's the sort of crap you've been thinking about, it makes sense your intelligence deprived brain hasn't developed at all over these last few years."

Naruto managed a surprised snort before he went full on attack mode.

"Oh yeah? At least I had the common sense not to chase after a demented, insane child molester just so he would teach you some evil magic tricks."

Naruto felt victorious when Sasuke didn't retaliate, but he felt a pang of guilt when he saw the Uchiha had put on his uncaring mask again to hide behind. For some reason, guilt turned into anger and he snarled at the Uchiha.

"Why do you always do that! What, am I not "worthy" of your time? Can't you even find the energy to yell at me when you're upset? Dammit! If you cared that little about me, why didn't you just kill me when you had the chance!"

Sasuke's facial expressions hardly changed, but Naruto knew better than to think his outburst didn't affect the Uchiha. His face was perfectly calm, but his dark eyes, the ones that held the unforgiving Sharingan.. were absolutely livid. Naruto swallowed as he realised he just crossed an invisible line.

"Uh, I.. That didn't come out ri-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by the scraping sound of Sasuke's chair as he stood up. The black haired boy averted his eyes from frightened blue ones, walked out of the kitchen and slammed his bedroom door shut.

"Shit. So much for the direct approach.." Naruto sighed.

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Aaah finished it just in time! I'm away for a week now, so please be patient.. I worked hard to get this one uploaded in time, so please reward me with some reviews! I really want to know what you guys think. 'til next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Naruto awoke with a startled grunt. It took him a few seconds to let his surroundings sink in and convince him he'd been dreaming. 'Well, more like remembering.. I haven't had these kind of nightmares in a while, wonder what's up with that?' And then it came back to him. 'Last night's fight must've triggered it. Shit, I forgot all about that..' The dream he just woke up from was the one his mind had played in front of his eyes every night for months after Sasuke had left. It was laced with vivid memories of their fight at the Valley of the End as well as painful details about the harsh words that had been spoken. He cringed when he remembered one particular sentence: 'You had nothing in the first place, so what the hell do you understand about me?!" Naruto realised it happened three years ago, but he could still feel the pain Sasuke's biting words brought him. 'Don't be such a whining bitch, no use dwelling on that stuff anymore', with that peptalk he shrugged off his depressing thoughts and jumped out of bed.

Naruto's mind was reeling when he left his bedroom. He had known Sasuke for a long time now, but never had he seen him walk out in anger like he had the day before. Not knowing how to handle the unfamiliar situation, Naruto decided it'd be best to give the Uchiha some space. Godaime had given the two of them a day off to settle in, so he decided to make good use of this new-found free time and take a stroll. 'Ah wait! I'm supposed to be on a 'mission', what if I run into Sakura-chan or Shikamaru and the others?', he sighed, 'I guess I can't wander off too far then.' Just as he finished that thought and walked out the front door, a pair of wide eyes stopped to stare at him.

"Naruto? Dude, is that you?! The hell are you doing here?"

Naruto couldn't believe his shitty luck. Of all the people to run into that could blow his cover, it just had to be Kiba.

"I should be asking you the same thing, Dogface."

"Hey! Who are you calling Dogface, Kitty-whiskers?!"

Naruto growled at the degrading insult, but he had to stay focused. If he handled this badly, all of Konoha would soon hear about his secret. The dog loving boy was known to be quite the blabbermouth after all. As Naruto tried to come up with a good excuse, the other boy seemed to calm down a bit. With his temper now in check, Kiba's eyes turned to curious rather than aggravated.

"Seriously dude, what the hell do you think you're doing, coming out of that apartment?"

Naruto gave up on plotting for a minute as Kiba's words sank in. A look of confusion crossed his features.

"What's that supposed to mean? You think I should be stuck living in them stinkin' tents or something?"

"No man, you got it wrong! I just don't get it… You know I moved to this street a while ago, right. When I left to take Akamaru out for a walk like half an hour ago, I passed by this apartment. And I swear to the heavens I saw that ice bitch Uchiha come out the front door?! What's up with that?"

Naruto panicked as he understood just how much Inuzuka had seen. There was no way he could lie his way out of this one. 'Crap.. I got no other choice. Kiba and I've been pals for a long time, maybe I can trust him, make him understand and convince him to keep his big mouth shut.' He took a deep breath before he started speaking in an urgent tone of voice.

"Shit, fine. You gotta promise me this stays between us, Dogface! Can you do that?"

"Uh, sure… But you really got me confused here, man. Hurry the hell up and explain!"

Naruto muttered an insult at Kiba's impatience, but continued nonetheless.

"The bastard and I were summoned to the Hokage's office yesterday. The old hag's forcing us to live together for some fucked up reason. She was spouting all kinds of crap about 'the villagers getting priority' and 'Konoha's strained relations' and stuff.. I don't even know, man. Just please, don't tell the others! This situation is messed up enough as it is.."

Kiba's eyes narrowed in suspicion as if he found it hard to believe Naruto spoke the truth. Soon after though, suspicion made room for mirth and he burst out laughing so hard it made the other boy's eardrums ache.

"Haha! You've got to be shitting me?! There's just no way, this is too good to be true! Godaime is really taking the piss out of you, isn't she? Genius old fart! Ha!"

Naruto couldn't say he appreciated the boy's glee at hearing about his hardship, but he figured he'd indulge him as long as he'd keep his word.

"Yeah yeah, fuck off, Dogface! I'm not liking this half as much as you are. So you'll keep it to yourself, right? Your word?"

Kiba wiped the tears from his cheeks and muffled his snorts in his sleeve as he tried to compose himself.

"Sure thing, bro. I think you're suffering enough as it is-"

He burst into another crazy giggle fit and Naruto rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'There's no talking to this kid.' He turned his back on the sniggering boy and made for the store to get some groceries.

All packed and loaded, three bags hanging on each arm, Naruto finally made his way to the apartment two hours later. He decided to spend the rest of the afternoon transforming his room into something a little more him, a little more… orange. He had stopped to get some paint on his way back from the grocery store, remembering the awfully dull grey that dominated his new bedroom.

"But first, dinner!" the boy's enthusiastic shriek reverberated through the empty kitchen.

He fixed up some instant ramen, even though he had finished five bowls of take-out the day before. 'What can I say, nothing compares to ramen', he mused in contentment. However, his happiness died down a bit as his thoughts drifted back to last night. 'I bet he didn't even touch the bowl I set down at his door..' Mulling over Sasuke's surprising reaction yesterday, Naruto continued to gulp down his noodles with a glassy look in his eyes.

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Apologies I took so long to update! I was having trouble deciding where to go with this story.. But I think I've got the important stuff figured out now, so no worries. I realise this is quite a short chap, really sorry about that. I'll try to make up for it in the next one! As always: please review, I really love reading your comments, my dear readers! It makes me feel like I'm at least entertaining some of you.. Until the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Greetings, my dear readers! Sorry for the wait, I'm a bit busy this month, but I'll try to update as soon as I can.

I figured I should also start using disclaimers, so here goes.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I very much wish I did so I could give you all a happy Sasunaru ending. :)**

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke woke up at dawn. Mood still sour from the events of last night, he violently tossed the blankets that covered him on the floor and rose to his feet. 'Usuratonkachi..' He shook his head at the anger bubbling in his stomach, willing it to go away, and headed for the bathroom.

After thoroughly brushing his teeth, he found himself staring at his own reflection, eyes clouded with feelings he did not want to acknowledge, let alone show on his features. He slowly, but determinedly turned away from the dark irises in the mirror, commencing a routine he had adapted since he left to train with Orochimaru. 'Annoyance and indifference, annoyance and indifference..', he thought to himself while clearing his head. Ever since he stomped on the feelings of those he cared about, mainly team 7, he found it hard to maintain the emotionless mask that he created after his parents were killed. Denying it at first, he had handled the situation by simply focusing on the task at hand, which was becoming strong enough to get even with his brother. Memories of the night when life as he knew it had ended were usually more than enough to trigger a burning hatred that compensated for the overwhelming feelings of doubt he felt after leaving Konoha. However, after a while he had felt a shift in that balance, a flash of orange and gold blinding him whenever he attempted to let his anger engulf him. Beyond confused about that vague vision undermining his determination, he felt the need to come up with a defense mechanism. Since that moment, he repeated his self-made mantra in his thoughts every morning. It was what helped him fight against the unexpectedly strong urge to return to his home, or what used to be his home.. Only this time, he was actually back in Konoha again. 'So what do I still have to hide..'

Shifting his eyes back to the mirror, he was pleased to see the blank expression looking back at him. He turned on his heels and continued his morning routine.

Figuring the last thing he needed at the moment was another confrontation with the blonde dobe, he decided to head out to the training grounds for a long and intense session. Closing the front door after him, he vaguely noticed a very surprised Kiba gawking at him as if he had sprouted another head or two. Ignoring the dog loving boy, he simply turned away and made for the sparring grounds.

-,_,-,_-

Meanwhile, a certain silver haired jounin was, much to his discontent, facing the challenge of a green spandex clad man.

"You cannot put this off anymore, my great rival, Kakashi! On this gloriously youthful day, we will decide who is the better man once and for all!"

Gai flashed one of his obnoxiously self confident smirks and Kakashi exhaled slowly. 'Just what I need..' He let his one visible eye wander around the training grounds with a look of utter boredom plastered to his face, then directed his focus to Gai in fake surprise.

"Did you say something?" he muttered noncommittally.

"Ah! You got me again, making me look like a fool! Damn you Kakashi, you're cool like that and it seriously gets on my nerves! No more stalling, I challenge you to a duel!"

Kakashi sighed heavily when his distracting maneuver failed. Just when he resigned to his depressing fate and opened his cloth covered mouth to answer to Gai's challenge, an opportunity to escape presented itself in the form of a scowling Uchiha walking passed them. 'Lucky..' he inwardly smirked.

"It seems I have duties elsewhere, Gai. Maybe next time," the jounin smiled in fake apology at his opponent.

Before the green beast could voice his displeasure at the interruption, Kakashi ran towards Sasuke and raised his hand in acknowledgement.

"Yo! What are you up to this fine morning?" he offered with a friendly expression.

The Uchiha turned his blank expression towards his sensei. 'Or former sensei?' Kakashi questioned himself. He shrugged away those confusing thoughts and remembered what he had decided. The silver haired man was no fool, after training Sasuke privately, he had gotten to know the young Uchiha better than most. He couldn't say he agreed with the boy's decisions most of the time, but somewhere in his mind he understood what drove him. As such, he decided not to hold any of Sasuke's crimes against him, no matter how great their impact had been.

"Training", the brooding youngster answered curtly.

"Would you like a sparring partner?" the older man suggested.

"No," was the only reply.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile beneath his mask as the boy's blunt attitude began to make sense to him. Unbeknownst to the Uchiha, Kakashi was well aware of the 5th Hokage's orders and he was amused to find Sasuke this irritated after only one day of living with Naruto. 'This could evolve faster than I thought..' the silver haired man mused. Kakashi had paid attention not only to the Uchiha's thirst for revenge, but also to the little things the boy believed went unnoticed. Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry had fascinated him since the day they had formed team 7, and he had anticipated great consequences that would come out of it. At first, he merely approved because it gave the boys incentive to do better than the other, to train harder than anyone. However, as time progressed, he saw their bond deepen. The fight against Haku was only the tip of the iceberg, but it had made one thing very clear to the jounin: the two boys had become each other's most precious person, though neither of them would ever admit it. After that, Kakashi kept an even closer eye on them and was stunned on a regular basis by how much his two students started to care about each other. Naruto was least surprising, as he displayed a very sociable and bright personality from the start. Sasuke's subtle actions of kindness towards the blonde, however, were less to be expected and warmed Kakashi's heart when he saw them. It made the pain he felt after Sasuke left that much harder to deal with. He had held on to hope for a long time, hope that Naruto could make Sasuke stray from the path of hatred he was so set on following. To say he was disappointed at the Uchiha's decision at the time was an understatement, but his feelings were nothing compared to the devastated look Naruto had directed at him when Kakashi found him broken on the ground after his defeat.

"Hm?" Sasuke arched an eyebrow at his motionless sensei.

Kakashi was forced to return to the present and gave the other boy an eye-smile.

"Ah, just remembered some things," he offered as a reply to Sasuke's silent question.

Kakashi was convinced the Uchiha still felt strongly about his teammate and he believed it was his job to push him in the right direction. 'Let's see if I was right all this time..'

"Don't hold it against me, but talking to you after such a long time stirs up some memories. Either way, I wanted to tell you directly that I am really glad to have you back in the village. To say things have been rough on team 7 without you wouldn't quite cut it."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his spot and Kakashi knew he had to follow through with this approach. He was hitting a sensitive nerve and would make good use of it, for the sake of his blonde haired student.

"I must say, I can't even remember the last time Naruto genuinely smiled these passed years. Can you believe it? He used to be this annoying ball of giggles and snorts, remember? It pissed you off more than anything, didn't it.. Understandable! But it's just, well, I really miss that sparkle in his eyes, be it mischief or happiness. I suppose it left around the time you did.."

He paused there to let the words sink in and grinned internally when he noticed the barely hidden guilt on Sasuke's face. 'Just one more push and I'm leaving it to you, Sasuke.'

"To think Naruto was so low at one point, he would've lost to Kyuubi's anger if his parents hadn't shown up to encourage him."

He knew that part had little to do with Sasuke personally, but a white lie never hurt anyone.

"It's hard to imagine, huh, that unwavering determination crumbling after all his hard work."

That was the death blow for Sasuke. Kakashi could read the feeling of complete misery on the boy's face plain as day. It half-surprised him, seeing that amount of raw emotion on the normally stoic boy's features. 'Well I'll be damned..' Kakashi thought. 'Looks like I underestimated him.' Still stunned by his student's reaction, he felt a genuine smile starting to wrinkle his mask. 'Naruto, if only you knew.. But I'm not telling, it's all up to Sasuke now.'

"I'll let you get some training done and take off. If you need a sparring partner anytime soon, don't hesitate to ask," he winked.

The Uchiha struggled with himself before nodding shortly in understanding. Kakashi felt mildly sorry for the boy, but knew that he had done the best he could. 'They could both use some happiness after what they've been through.'

The silver haired jounin stalked away and left a very disgruntled Sasuke to his muddled thoughts.

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As promised, a slightly longer chapter! Please review, it really motivates me to do better and update faster!


	6. Chapter 6

I am so, so sorry this took as long as it did. I forgot to mention that I'm working a summer job this month and I don't really have a lot of free time to write at the moment. My apologies for the delay, but here's the next chapter. It didn't come out smoothly, but I hope it's to your liking just the same..

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the marvelous series that is Naruto.

* * *

After several long hours of painting, Naruto was finally content with the result. 'I'm a genius, there's no denying it', he thought smugly while his eyes continued to scan the room for any tiny imperfections. To most people, the overdose of bright colour would be painful to the eyes. Naruto, however, felt empowered by the energy radiating from it. He couldn't resist doing a little victory dance as he concluded he'd done a marvelous job at bringing more life into the room. His shit-eating grin melted away, however, when he heard the front door open and click back into place again. 'Damn it, he's back.. What do I do now?' Naruto felt nervousness creep up his spine and settle in his throat. He coughed slightly in an attempt to get rid of the uncomfortable sensation and decided to take the bull by the horns and confront the Uchiha directly. 'No use in putting this off..'

When he entered the kitchen, he was more than stunned to find the Uchiha putting away the groceries he'd picked up. In a rush to take on his brain numbingly boring room with the new paint supplies, he had left the food he'd bought in their plastic bags on the table.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

Sasuke briefly gave him a 'what's it look like' frown, and merely continued what he was doing. As Naruto watched him work, he grew impatient with the lack of explanation and rephrased his question.

"Why are you putting that stuff away?" He eloquently specified.

"To make room on the table."

"Room for what?" Naruto squinted his eyes in suspicion.

"Eating." Was the gruff reply.

"Oh.."

Naruto deadpanned. As much as the Uchiha's words made sense, there was something horribly off about this whole situation. Eventually, something inside of his brain clicked and he sputtered in surprise.

"Hey, wait! But you never help around with stuff like that. When we went on missions, you always refused to 'lower yourself to such menial tasks' and let us do all the work!"

Naruto's confusion seemed to annoy Sasuke as the boy turned around with a stern look on his features.

"We'll take turns. You cook this week, I'll handle the rest. We switch next week."

To say that Naruto was surprised would be a severe understatement. 'What in the world has happened to him.. Did he have an epiphany? Did he reach enlightenment?' No matter how incredulous all of it sounded to Naruto's ears, he couldn't help but feel a spark of hope that made his heart jump. 'Whatever this is, I'm not complaining'. He grinned and realised that maybe he hadn't been mistaken. Maybe the Uchiha's cold attitude towards him really had never been a reflection of deep-rooted hate for his teammate. The thought of that assumption possibly being reality caused a warm throbbing in his chest.

"Ok, yeah! Sure!" He couldn't suppress his excitement and voiced the words a little louder than he should have.

Instead of the expected scowl that usually formed on Sasuke face when the blonde raised his voice for no apparent reason, his neutral gaze stayed in place. But Naruto sensed the underlying mood of his rival, he was convinced the Uchiha looked slightly amused.

"I'll get started right away!"

Naruto was relieved to find that yesterday's events seemed to have slipped the other boy's mind. 'Maybe he just wasn't really himself last night,' he mused. He stealthily took another peek at the boy, who had resumed his previous work, but couldn't find even the slightest hint of the lingering anger that he had expected. Sasuke's silent outburst still puzzled Naruto, but he figured the best thing to do was just drop it and start over.

"You know I'm like the best cook ever, right? You're gonna cry tears of gratitude when you finish your plate."

A familiar snort sounded behind him and Naruto's grin grew more confident. 'Just you wait, bastard, you're no match for me when it comes to cooking.'

"Just try not to poison the both of us."

Sasuke's belated reply missed its usual sting and Naruto decided this was as good a time as any to start his subtle questioning again. The Uchiha was obviously in a rare good mood, why waste a perfectly good chance? Naruto would be more careful, though, this time.

"So, you gotten used to being a Konoha shinobi again? The town's in bad shape, but I reckon the people and stuff haven't really changed, right?"

Sasuke avoided meeting Naruto's questioning blue eyes and instead focused on the bag of rice in his hands. He hesitated for a mere second, but it was long enough for Naruto to notice his discomfort.

"It's different."

Naruto hadn't expected such an open, honest answer and lifted his brows in astonishment.

"What makes you say that? I know there's a lot that has to be rebuilt, but the Hokage tower is already fixed, most of the shops too, and lots of families have been appointed new districts to live in and.."

Naruto's voice died out. The Uchiha fan flashed before his eyes and he understood what Sasuke had probably meant. He may have called Konoha his home before, but in reality Sasuke had only felt strong ties to his family's district, even after the horror that had taken place there many years ago. Now that the village had been laid to ruins, his home destroyed, he had lost the most important string that connected him to the town. 'Who would rebuild the Uchiha residences, there's no one left to do it..' Naruto felt a surge of sadness at that realisation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine."

Sasuke didn't look half as troubled as Naruto did and the blonde wondered if maybe he'd misinterpreted the meaning behind the boy's blunt reply earlier.

"I just thought, you know.. With you coming back and all, that you had planned to live there again or something. But now that everything's, well, gone.."

His voice trailed off and he came to the realization that he'd inadvertently steered the conversation towards the direction he had intended when he started asking questions. 'Now that you've lost it all, what reason could you possibly have for staying? What's left for you here?' He finished in his thoughts.

"Drop it."

Sasuke shot him a warning glare, making him aware of the fact that he knew exactly what Naruto was hinting at. Naruto felt frustration mix with the grief that overwhelmed him earlier. 'One minute he blows up on me, the next he puts up this impenetrable wall of ice.. What's up with that?' He considered egging him on and provoking another outburst, but thought better of it. 'Sasuke's a private kind of guy, maybe I should just give him more time..'

"Fine, whatever."

"Good."

Naruto watched the annoyance slide of the Uchiha's features and thought he saw an unfamiliar expression take its place. 'Am I seeing things?' he wondered. He could've sworn it was a combination of relief.. and embarrassment.

* * *

Only one more week and I am free again! September will be a better writing month for me, I'll have more time on my hands. Anyway, hope you liked it. I will have to double-check for spelling mistakes and typo's later, please forgive me if you've spotted some. As always, please review! You guys brighten my day!


	7. Chapter 7

My dear readers, I know I said I'd have a lot of time to write this month.. Well, turns out I didn't. I'm going to study in Japan for half a year starting this Thursday and kinda forgot I had a lot to prepare for that.. My sincerest apologies. To those who are still patiently waiting every time for me to put up a new chapter, thank you for putting up with me. If it is any consolation, the reason it takes a while for me to update sometimes is because no matter how busy I am, I never want to rush a chapter just to get it up in time. I prefer taking a bit more time to make sure it's well written.

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Naruto, but sadly I don't.

* * *

Naruto felt Sasuke's suspicious eyes on his back as he did some final seasoning.

"A touch of rat droppings.. aaaand we're done!"

He joked without turning around, voice dripping with mockery. When he did face Sasuke, he caught the look of mild concern before the boy corrected himself and assumed his usual blank Uchiha stare.

"Jeez, I was kidding, bastard.. You think I'd go as far as to eat shit just to spite you?"

The other boy knit his eyebrows together in obvious distaste for the disturbing mental image.

"Past events have proven your stupidity knows no bounds. I'd rather not take my chances." Was the provoking reply.

Naruto scoffed at that, ignoring the insult in favour of focusing on his food.

"Whatever, man. Starve for all I care, I'm digging in."

With those words, he sat down, filled his plate and put his words into action. After waiting a full five minutes (to assure himself that he wasn't going to be poisoned, Naruto was sure), Sasuke finally caved and hesitantly brought his chopsticks to his mouth. Engrossed in finishing his own plate, Naruto nearly missed the subtle rise of the other boy's eyebrows at the taste of his food. When their eyes met, Sasuke gave him an almost incredulous look.

"What?" Naruto inquired.

"…" Sasuke remained silent, eyes searching for something in opposing blue ones.

"You like it, don't you? I told you it would be heaven for your taste buds! Ha!"

Naruto boasted, a sly grin slowly forming on his features. Sasuke smirked back.

"There had to be something you're good at. Shame it isn't your shinobi skills, genin."

Naruto sputtered in surprise.

"The hell did you just say to me, bastard?! I'll have you know I could easily become a jounin right-fucking-now, alright? I just haven't had the time for such meaningless tests because I was too busy traveling the world, learning cool new jutsu and chasing after your sorry ass!"

"Bullshit. I bet you're still the same scatterbrain you always were."

Naruto was fuming by now. 'You're on, bastard..'

"Oh you have no idea what you're getting yourself into, jackass.. I've wanted a go at you for so long now and I won't hold back. You and me, sparring session, tomorrow. I'll show you just how much I've changed."

The fire in his azure eyes didn't seem to intimidate Sasuke, on the contrary, it only made the boy smirk wider.

"You think you're worthy of my time, how pathetic."

Naruto grit his teeth in frustration. No matter how much he would like to deny it, he had to admit it to himself.. That remark hurt. He was fully aware that Sasuke hadn't considered him an equal since their 'reunion' at Orochimaru's hide-out. He knew the boy had always been a stuck-up brat and looked down on him, but for some reason it pained him to realize that Sasuke didn't acknowledge him as a rival anymore. He suddenly longed for the time when they were still the old team 7, when they were at each other's throats more often than not. Naruto forced out a wry smile. He missed the bond he'd had with Sasuke. 'I'll fix it.. I'm going to fight you again and I'll prove you wrong..'

"I think someone's chicken. What's the matter, afraid I'll kick your ass? I saw you cower in fear when you witnessed my Tailed Beast mode firsthand. You scared I might accidentally kill you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"If you're trying to get me riled up so I'll fight you, you're failing miserably."

"It seemed to work pretty well yesterday and I wasn't even trying then."

Naruto watched how Sasuke's smirk slid off his face. He knew he'd hit a sore spot. But as much as he wanted to make the boy accept his challenge, this wasn't the way to do it. Whatever caused Sasuke to snap yesterday, Naruto recognised it was something serious.. And not something to be used to stir up a fight.

"I take that back."

Naruto suppressed his anger and hurt and tried to calm down. Finally he shot the other boy an apologetic smile and rubbed the back of his neck, a gesture that revealed his slight unease.

"I still don't get what happened though.. Why'd you blow up on me?"

"I did no such thing."

Naruto sighed in exasperation.

"Yeah, you can call it what you like, but I know you.. In all our years I've rarely seen you that pissed off. Was it the crap I gave you about Orochimaru?"

Sasuke refused to meet his eyes and didn't answer.

"Come on, man, you have to give me something, anything.."

When he still didn't get a reply, Naruto got up to clean his plate. 'I don't even know why I expected an answer.. No need to be disappointed, I should've realised he wouldn't talk.' Lost in thoughts, he barely registered the hands roughly yanking the plate out of his hands. Still half in a daze, he turned to the boy standing directly behind him.

"You cooked. Sit down."

Naruto opened his mouth in astonishment, but the words never came. 'Why? How can he just be like that.. and then suddenly.. not be like that anymore..?' Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'You're not making any sense, Uzumaki.' He was at a loss as to why Sasuke was so.. well, nice. 'No! I mean, he's still the same old stoic prick who doesn't answer my questions.. But why do I feel like he's trying to make up for it?' Naruto couldn't figure it out, so he gave up, took a seat and started following the Uchiha's every move. Sasuke didn't seem to notice, or care. However, after a while, he turned around and met Naruto's confused eyes. Something in there seemed to make the black haired boy give in and his gaze softened a little.

"You're such an idiot."

The total lack of poise of his statement confused Naruto even more. But for some reason, the look in Sasuke's eyes felt comforting and it made him feel at ease. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to care about the fact that the boy still hadn't answered his question. Even though Sasuke hadn't given him any explanation, somehow he felt like he was offered one, though he did not understand it completely. Naruto accepted that this was as close as he was going to get to an answer and decided it would do for now.

"Asshole."

"Dobe."

Naruto got up again and made his way to the sink, bringing the rest of the dirty dishes with him. He dropped them unceremoniously into the hot soapy water and grabbed a towel. Sasuke frowned and opened his mouth in protest, but Naruto wouldn't have it. He glared at the black haired boy, as if daring him to say something, and simply started drying off the dripping plates on the counter. Sasuke looked unwilling to let him continue, but eventually shrugged his shoulders and let his hands drop into the warm water again.

They worked in silence for a while, but as Naruto was drying off the last pan, he couldn't help himself.

"I can still kick your ass."

The corners of his mouth tilted upwards but never made it to a smile, as he was hit square in the face with a soaked sponge. Naruto was stunned by the other boy's childish actions and looked at him in disbelief.

"Did you just.."

Sasuke took his time drying off his hands, before turning around and walking away. When he reached his bedroom door, he faced Naruto again, grin set firmly in place.

"Keep dreaming, dumbass."

Sasuke opened his door and disappeared out of sight, leaving a very baffled Naruto standing speechless in the kitchen, towel still dangling in his motionless hand.

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There you go! I really hope you like the direction I'm headed with this story. I realise I can't possibly please everyone, but I hope you enjoy it.  
As always, I would be thrilled to get some reviews! Thank you for reading.


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